Gordon Parks

Gordon Parks (born November 30, 1912, in Fort Scott, Kansas – died March 7, 2006) was an American artist whose multidisciplinary practice explored race, poverty, social justice, Black life, and the complexities of American identity. Working across photography, film, writing, music, and poetry, Parks examined inequality, dignity, and everyday life through documentary image-making, narrative storytelling, and human-centered portraiture.  Parks was largely self-taught as a photographer. His work often engages documentary photography, portraiture, social history, and political witness, using photo essays, cinematic storytelling, and intimate visual observation to consider segregation, labor, family, policing, and Black self-representation in the United States.  His work has been exhibited at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the High Museum of Art. He received numerous honors, including the National Medal of Arts and the Spingarn Medal. Gordon Parks lived and worked in New York City.